





- 

: ^ • . : " m WALCOTT, 

- 
■ 

■ 
- 
- 

■ 

■■ . 

■ ■ ■ • - - - 

- • . • 

■ 
■ 

- 
■ 

- 



• 









oCrt2^^^y^y 




^^\^ // • / -- * ^ZT' 



TTTP niTDTOTTAWIO TT)TTC!T ' — ^'^ 




THE CHRISTIAN'S TRUST. 

MEMORIAL SERMON 



DELIVERED AT THE FUNERAL OF 

Benjamin S. Walcott, 

NEW YORK MILLS, ONEIDA CO., N. Y., 

JANUARY 16, 186 2, 

BY 

Rev. CHESTER FITCH, 

PASTOR OF PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 



ASLEEP IN JESUS. 



NEW YORK: 
BAKER k GODWIN, PRINTERS 

PRINTING-HOUSE SQUARE. 
18C2. 



4 



THE LIBRARY 
OF CONGRESS 

WASHINGTON 



stove m mo '^J^Jl'Jl 9]oyi\\— *g | Ofr "sqo n Al 9i -g ptjo.i pres jc 
wooden structure located where tu^'TpPesW/V"! iasnoq s.Sao.^sra^- . 
Presbyterian Church now stands. In the ' 



i)uno 

I • 
)9' ■ 
uiSaq 

tiuv.v 

O 8' 
£} ° 

sua 



now 
same month action was taken upon the builf-- 
in^ of a new chm-ch, and the same year it 
was finished and dedicated, at a cost of $3,000 
.; including an insurance of $1,000 upon the 
old church. It is a plain brick 
structure, fifty-five by thirty-five 
feet, with four large windows on each side. 
The basement, entered from the front, is di- 
vided into two sections, the front being used 
for prayer meetings and infant school, and, 
9' with the smaller one in the rear, in times of 
q social gatherings. High, broad steps lead up to 
J the audience room, which contains two aisles 
and four rows of seats, having, together with 
the galleries, a seating capacity of four hun- 
dred. The new church was dedicated on the 
007 the 23th of October, 18:35, by the Rev. 
Beriah Green. The clergyman who suc- 
ceeded the Rev. Mr. Loss was the Rev. Ira 
5 Pettibone, who was called to New York Mills, 
• May 2, 1836. After a stay of nine years with 
-. his charge Mr. Pettibone resigned, assigning 
^8 ' failing health as the cause. The retiring 
8c l clergyman is said to have accomplished much 
?£ good among his flock. After an interval of 
six months after his withdrawal the Rev. N. 
Dwight Graves, of Auburn Seminary, re- 
ceived a call to the Mills and accepted. His in- 
stallation took place January 13, 1846. His 
pastorate was of three years' duration and he 
was succeeded by the Rev. R. R. Kirk. Soon 
after Mr. Kirk's arrival he recommended a 
more extended confession than that in use, 
and a new one was adopted. This con- 
fession has been in use since that 
time. Mr. Kirk remained with the 
congregation until November 12, 1858. He 
was a favorite with his little flock, and por- 
traits of him may be found in the houses of 
several of his former parishioners. He died 
snddenly in New York November 16, 1862, of 
heart disease. After a brief vacancy the Rev. 
Chester Fitch accepted a call and was in- 
lof — .".' stalled. He served eleven years, his pastor- 
3j9 Jrp ate being the longest in the history of the So- 
0S ■•"■.? ciety. In 1869 the Rev. V. Leroy Lock wood 
00 r 2m bagan his labors at the Mills, and in 1875 he 

< '■ was succeeded by the present pastor, the Rev. 

f,J frtt °.« Charles B. Austin. In July, 1861, William 

'aar??^ D - Walcott was chosen an Elder of the 

• • - - .?[ ; Church. The original Board of Trustees were 

(j four in number: Benjamin S. Walcott, John 
| Puffer, David Shapley and James McArthur. 
The others who have been appointed from 



009 



'S 

•"si 

38 

Al 



00 



'pal 

' oos -^ 

i *Q 'A 

ogr . .1 

301 



j.iBau 'gjfBjs 1? Aq 
M3js[ o? p-eoa 9jt 



-JOAl 



W I ?nq 'arnos V 1 " q ° * aodn 
ntmmqAq t^ods ? q °™ £" 2 I ' sd U 
> Wads nam amog 



iqStq jo axraao W&<:gi&^ 



ouinwju 
86 sqo S "AV /<J 

l 088 "S 90U9qj '"S3H _ 

} SA^MqSiq jo 9.nu90 9q 
088 'JsE 9ou9qi tsano^s puB qs[^ 
'sqo L "A\ ol 'MQDuatR isauo^s 
o; -sin n<J qo 8 'AV 088 '8 aouaq* 
s.IJBx .10 "K 'asnoq JfaiqaAvp 
K S 9qi tno.ij -up i -gr ,g* 'o£Z '8 
9q; oj s^jbj, uio.ij Sutp^er Abay 
1 jo a.i}uao aqj iv. anxutuSaa— gg 
tosq.mg j^r uo^piojv oqt passassy 

Suiuibiuoo '#inuui£aq 

oj -sin ft) -qo z£. '3 06 •s'aouaqi 
98 'H oT8 "N P«BI s t J9iX,i JO 9uq 
% ^UO\TB 80Q9q; UQ\S.Jj 9UqU9IBA 

u^i jo 9uq ^jjaqjnos 9q^ b% sunj 
tAVq^iq pi^S JO 9.IJU90 9q^ Suo\i3 
Ul pBOJ 9^;S! 9qj 01 UOpUOi: 

^nipBai iS'BAVqSiq aq^ o^ -sjq 06 
8 'S '^MqSiq pies jo 9.rju80 9q^ 
[j '^Of ni ra }° 9pis 'g no Suip'eai; 
to 9.i^u90 aq; ui }oj rpui jSgA-BJO 
uq ^[J9^S9A\ oqj no 2uraup39a— 9S 

! t)"l9AV 'd 'K Sq pauAVO 'joi 3m^ 
I ^oj %vq.i8 m '^ io\ jo qj'Bj— c-[ 
•sta-BqnAi 9uaoqj«o oqi passassy" 
i05 'd "9^8 J9qn ui '^gi 'g &eyi 
3 Xjunoo ui papaooog ^gl 
ouBMg ptABa oj Suoajsuuv 'a 
• S9spxi9.id 9UIBS 9q^ si puB 'suq 

■B q.'JOOU'BMg piA^O; U99AV^9q SB 
0(J 'S9.I0B ^OX 95fBUI 01 ST3 ^0{ piBS 

^nos 9qj jo qonra os si 'p9A9Au'oo 
P9pu9^ui %md ppss gqjj -spuei 
os 9q^ jo i -ojs[ ^oi jo laBd ^-eq; 
xsi jo poaBd jo ^0-8^ :n*qi qv— I 
•uoi^duos9C[ pu-e 107 jo -ok 

[IA.SKNV JO WAiOi 

: -zia 'isq SaiA\oqoj aqj ui 

Id PUB S909ld 'SJOI 'S^OBJJ X^-I9A9S 

9np uiBuiaj S9xbj jo uoiiogqoo 

aqj aoj sa\bi oj ;uBns.ind pasod 

aqi joj S9XB1 jo sjb9xib 'segagq^V 

AXKIIOO 3ILL KI 83XVX Ql 

v nod saMVT jo aivn 



^V^ 




2 o$ t 



eti <l Ovl 0l *t 

HI 






3t S 

J<te 



& 



i y 11 
e jfoiqM 

q 8UTA 



$ a pne 
-nosd/i -Ja 

/ 'W -A9H 
A8H 'A98 

h 'a a 

*^« ?nas9jd 
A"[8saap 



I that 



vmg closely upon the ceieDraw^xf d 

fch Anniversary, the solemnization 

ing's ceremonies will be another J° Sf) 0iOA 

/ent'in the annals of the Presby- |eas Aiqak 

v. Its condition was never before —-^^ 

| as now. ^ 8J9D ^q? 

^ Ap snoprdsn, a JO tn pa.Li^y 
■sjaqjQ puB 

'uooBg t M -uo H 

*»ea'uaUJBa«UMoj a 

•SAay Aq sassa.ipp V .Auom 

wao am-ABp40; S9A . S i„u, 

«oo,H M a MWoouo;s ^ oo9 ^ 3u W^ 



Irith 
jried 
heir 
)ted 



3^c^lAI31 M3N 3H1 

omuum avunos ' 8H0Bn ,i 



rery 

it is 

iion 

^fore 

we 

en- 

we 

iked 



AVQNOg 



SUNDAY TRIBONB, SUNDAY 




,' ■;"■ 




1SS 



A\KU llorSi.nl UulNIII' :;;;;; ; ; rr .,::;"■■"...::...■■ . ~ 






■r, ■■-,: 






!-":' '■■'} ■—'•!? "^''.rv:.;;":;;:: 




9< 



■V 6 \ \ 



9^0}' 



.19 
90{i \ 

-0\,0 

V^\\9^ 




SEEMOIST. 



2 Timothy, i. 12. — "For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that 
he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." 



We gather round the beds of the dying, and listen with 
deep interest to their last words, and watch with unwearied 
anxiety the last emotions of the soul. Their thoughts, their 
feelings, whatever may have been their course of life, are noted 
and remembered. We watch their breathing. We note every 
sigh. And as the dark valley is to be entered — as the spirit is 
to travel away alone — we are anxious to know every pulsation 
of the soul, and catch the last lisp of the lingering spirit before 
it quite leaves its clay. With what deep solicitude do we 
gather round even the stranger, too, to see how the spirit en- 
counters the dread monster, Death ! With all our souls we 
watch its exit, to see if it is saddened with despair, and racked 



4 MEMORIAL SERMON. 

with fear and awful forebodings of the future, or buoyed up 
by an unseen hand, and gladdened with the blessed prospect 
of joys to come. There is an interest excited, there are emo- 
tions, tender, deep, powerful, impressed on the memory, that 
not all the mutations of time can efface. We would go farther, 
but it is not permitted. We would lift the vail that separates 
time from eternity, and look beyond, and see how the spirit 
fares in the spirit land. 

Our text presents some of the last words of Paul. Paul, 
the prisoner, about to suffer martyrdom. He is here penning 
his last inspired record, as he is about to leave the Church 
and the world. Here is a plain record of his own feelings 
in view of death. He had embraced the Gospel and its Christ 
fully. He lived for the spread of that Gospel, and we see 
the effect which these glorious doctrines had upon him in view 
of the near approach of his dissolution. He had embraced, 
and preached, and recommended this Gospel everywhere, and 
now he dies by it ; and his language is, " I know whom I 
have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that 
which I have committed unto him against that day." 

And not only was he unshaken in view of death, but he 
longed to depart and be with Christ. He had gazed on heav- 
enly things; he had such views of Christ, he so wished to be 



BENJAMINS. WALC0TT. 5 

delivered from every defilement of sin, that lie greatly desired 
to go and be with Him lie most loved. Paul had passed 
beyond all those things which so much engross ordinary Christ- 
ian minds. What attractions had wealth, or pleasure, or fame 
for him? To all these attractions he was dead. Christ Avas 
his, and all things necessary for him were included in Christ. 
One only desire remained, that Christ might be glorified in 
him, be it by life or by death. Hear his own wonderful words: 
"According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in 
nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as 
always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, 
whether it be by life or by death; for to me to live is Christ, 
and to die is gain." 

The struggle of Paul was downward. It was to keep him- 
self here. The buoyant spirit, already on tip-toe, with half- 
expanded wing, would fly away and be at rest. The struggle 
was to fold the wings and wait, and work on till God should 
call him home. 

The Apostle declares, "I know whom I have believed." 
Here is no doubt, no wavering. He stood immovable on a 
rock. The winds might roar, and the lightnings flash, and the 
waters dash their crested billows on that rock, bnt he is all 
unmoved. Never was there a more firm, unshaken confidence. 



6 MEMORIAL SERMON. 

Could Paul — and can we, who have the faith of Paul — look 
thus calmly, yea, triumphantly, on the tomb and beyond it ? 
Yes, Paul rested his firm persuasion on the knowledge of 
Christ. There is this sustaining knowledge of Christ. 

1st. There is a knowledge of his history. We have this 
history in our hands. His mission, — the end of his mission. 
God manifest in the flesh. The prophecies meet in him with 
a complete fulfillment. He prophesied, and his own prophecies 
have been minutely fulfilled. He healed the sick, restored 
sight to the blind ; he calmed the sea's elemental war ; he 
raised the dead. His birth was heralded by angels ; his holy 
life, his atoning death, and his resurrection are all recorded, — 
recorded by different men, and so written that it is beyond a 
doubt. There could be no collusion. Here is the work for 
our reasoning powers, — we are to judge for ourselves, and know 
that the Gospel is no cunningly-devised fable. We may know 
whether the Gospel is a myth, or whether the events are re- 
corded as they actually took place. Never must we assert that 
faith is to usurp the place of reason. No ! let reason, with all 
its power and acumen, examine all the great facts of Gospel 
history, and judge honestly. The Gospel is held up for the 
boldest, keenest criticisms. Our religion challenges investiga- 
tion. Let the rays of light from science's highest stand-point 



BENJAMIN 8. WALCOTT. 7 

be converged to a focus on all its naked facts. It was made 
for all time, for the highest point of mental culture that the 
ao-es shall beffet. 

2d. There is a knowledge of Christ to all who shall heart- 
ily embrace his teachings. There is promised to such a new 
life all unknown to the world. The sons of God are reborn, 
— translated to a new kingdom. They possess a new life, 
known only to those who are living it. How do we know 
what sound is, but by hearing \ How do we know what light 
is, but by seeing ? How do we know animal life, but by liv- 
ing it \ And can the Gospel do for us what it promises to 
do, and leave no trace of its work on our hearts i Shall we 
begin a new life, implanted by the very Spirit of God, — a life 
which has its food, and laws, and growth, — and know nothing 
of it ? Shall we grow up into God in a life angelic, and not 
know it i Strange ! Shall the highest, noblest life of that 
immortal creature, man, expand and beautify, and leave the 
mind all unconscious of its existence ? This life is simply what 
it promises to those to whom He gives power to become the 
sons of God. " The Spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that 
we are his children." 

It is the living, abiding knowledge of this life, unseen and 



8 MEMORIAL SERMON. 

unknown by the world, that baffles hell, and takes out of all 
the future every shadow of a fear. It is this very knowledge 
that has converted the martyr's flame into a triumphal chariot, 
to bear the rapt spirit away to heaven. And here may we 
not say that those who have not this witness in themselves 
are bound, by the great principles that govern their lives in 
all other matters, to listen to the great cloud of the true and 
honest witnesses of God ? In all the fields of science there is 
no fact better established than this new life of God in the 
soul, although so widely disbelieved. 

3d. Paul knew that he was once dead, with no outgoing 
of active obedience to God. His heart understood not the 
chief end of man. But by the breath of the Almighty he was 
made alive; he awoke to a lite hid with Christ in God. He 
died to all hopes of salvation grounded on his own righteous- 
ness. He lived, and he knew it, in a rich life of godliness. 

4th. He knew Christ in his adaptation to man's deep, 
heartfelt necessities ; and will not the soul rest with a firm 
persuasion as it views Christ in that character, and in those 
offices that so recommend him to the troubled sinner's soul ? 
If our soul rest sure and steadfast, held by a sheet-anchor, we 
must know in whom we believe. We must know that the 



BENJAMINS. WALCOTT. V 

arm that promises to save us is able. He is the Wonderful 
Counsellor, the Mighty God; able to save to the uttermost all 
who come to God through him. And He must be as tender, 
too, as he is powerful. We have not a high priest that can- 
not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He was 
wounded for our transgressions ; he was bruised for our iniqui- 
ties. When our adversary roars about us as a lion, we know 
the Saviour's great mission was to vanquish him and destroy 
his works. When we look into the darkness of the tomb, we 
hear the voice that spoke to the cold remains of Lazarus, say- 
ing, Come forth ! Yes, we know full well that the Saviour's 
great triumph is to be in the graveyard, — the spot where our 
hearts have been torn with anguish, and our bitterest tears 
have fallen. All that are in their graves shall hear his voice 
and come forth, — his children to everlasting life. Send thought 
forth, and can you imagine a more complete adaptation to 
every feeling, every want of sinful man, than is found in 
Christ I Can you add to that character \ What beauty, what 
perfection is wanting \ 

In wealth, in poverty, in prosperity, in adversity, in sick- 
ness, in health, in life, in death, in time, in eternity, every 
want is met, every moment is provided for. All are yours, 
and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's. 



10 MEMORIAL SERMON. 

But the question may here be asked, Is the Christian agi- 
tated by no fear? Do no doubts ever shake the equilibrium 
of his mind ? Yes, it is sometimes so, but the fear, we think, 
never arises from any supposed defect in Christ. We never 
doubt his wisdom, or power, or goodness, or faithfulness, or 
compassion. The doubt is as to whether we have made an 
unreserved deposit of all into His gracious hands. The fear 
arises from the lingerings of the legal spirit still within us. 
The deposit, we believe, is safe, if it has been truly made. 
The fear, if any linger in the heart, is, we cannot say, 

. " Other refuge have I none : 

Hangs my helpless soul on thee." 

But some doubting, trembling soul may say, "Paul's case 
differs widely from my own; he had a great advantage over 
me. He might use these emphatic words of triumph, but they 
are not for me. He was inspired. He spoke as he was 
moved by the Holy Ghost." All this is true. But his inspi- 
ration and his casting his soul on Christ are two very differ- 
ent things. Did he not put away the rags of his own self- 
righteousness, and become a child, and fall into Jesus' arms 
like any other man ? Did his inspiration elevate his rags into 
Christ's place? and did God give him a tongue to boast on 



BENJAMINS. WALCOTT. 11 

this account 3 Did his inspiration take the place of his faith, 
or do part of the work of faith ? Was not the simple, child- 
like, trustful deposit of Paul, and all that pertained to him in 
his salvation, the same as that of any poor, helpless one who 
has had communicated to him the spark of eternal life, and 
"been enabled to look with triumph on the tomb ? Was his 
commitment of soul to the safe-keeping of his Saviour any 
more entire or soul-sustaining than millions who have since 
believed the word of the Apostle ? Is it not the same faith 
in us and our children, that is to do the battle of life, — over- 
come the world? — that is to bruise Satan under our feet, 
shortly, and crown us at last, through Christ, blessed victors % 
The death of the Christian is peculiar; he stands by him- 
self. His peculiarity consists in this : He dies first — and often 
long before the spirit leaves the body — to all help in himself, 
in human reason, or human philosophy, as equal to the last 
dread encounter. He leans not on human helpers. He lifts 
his eye to the Cross, and says, By this I conquer. What 
others rely on, he ignores; and the heart's heartiest utterances 
are — 



In my hands no price I bring 
Simply to Thy cross I cling." 



12 MEMORIAL SERMON. 

He conquers — yea, more. " O death, where is thy sting 'i 
O grave, where is thy victory?" Thanks unto God, who giv- 
eth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Death ! Ave know not what it is. We never have died, 
and no kind friend has or will come back to inform us. We 
know something of its consequence. The spirit leaves the 
body, and the body returns to corruption. But whatever may 
be death, that unrevealed event that lies just before us all 
we leave with our blessed Saviour. He knows it all ; and what- 
ever it be, it has no harm for us. He is in it, he pervades 
it, he presides over it, his power controls it, and all its conse- 
quences. We sink only to rise. The seed dies to spring up, 
in an eternal harvest of beauty and glory, on the banks of the 
river of life. 

Are there masterful principalities and powers in the dark 
unknown ? What cares the redeemed spirit ? Is not Christ 
far above all principalities and powers, and every name that 
is named both in this and the world to come \ Are there 
friendly powers? They are one with Christ, and with us to 
befriend us and enrich us with their own skill and knowledge. 
Are they mighty, dark, hateful, malignant ? We have nothing 
to fear, for they are under our Captain's feet. 

In all things we are more than conquerors through Him 



BENJAMINS. WALCOTT. 13 

who loved us. " For I am persuaded that neither death, nor 
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things pres- 
ent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, 
which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord." 

This commitment of all our interests to Christ is for the 
present as well as the future : for life as well as death. If the 
soul be safe, all life's trials must be accounted small. In 
truth, under the Divine economy, they are converted into our 
helpers, to waft on the soul towards its desired haven. 

And is not this one great cause of Paul's continuous joy? 
The soul resting here, will not every affliction appear light, as 
it is elevating the eternal weight of glory more fully into 
view \ And hence the joyous outbursts of Paul, in stripes, in 
imprisonments, in perils by sea and by land, and by robbers, 
in tumults and fasting, in deaths oft, besides the care of all 
the churches, — yet always rejoicing! The soul being safe, is 
there not always linked to every burden an elastic, uplifting 
joy ? A man shipwrecked, who sees his wife and children safe 
with him on the shore, will care little that a casket of jewels 
fell overboard, however valuable it might be. 

" A man's great interests may be more safe when, like Bun- 
yan with his little blind daughter, he is in prison, than when 



14 MEMORIAL SERMON. 

in a palace ; when on a pallet of straw, than on a bed of 
down ; when gnawing hunger constrains him to say, Give us 
this day our daily bread, than when encompassed by the 
wealth of Croesus." 

How momentous the question to be settled for all future 
time, by the Apostle, by all ! On what shall I lean \ Where 
is the place of safety ? Where shall I rest ? How has this 
question troubled those under the light of the Gospel, where 
that light has never shone inward ! They seek rest but find 
none. How has it disquieted the jpoor heathen, and driven 
him under the ponderous wheels of Juggernaut, — driven him 
to fasting, and penance, and every self-inflicting torture the 
most ingenious and excruciating that the human mind can 
invent, — driven him to immolate the fruit of his body, the 
very life and center of his affections ! O, where shall rest be 
found ? The earth, sun, moon, and stars give back no answer. 
Unaided reason cannot tell. If man ever finds it, God must 
reveal it to him. It must come from above. Paul found it 
in Christ, in knowing him as one to whom the Holy Ghost 
had communicated, having taken richly of Jesus, in all the 
fullness of his wisdom, and power, and faithfulness, and right- 
eousness. 

"lie is able to keep that which I have committed unto 



BENJAMIN S. W A LC0TT. 15 

him against that day." A day for the glorious manifestation 
of the sons of God. A day of jubilee for God's holy uni- 
verse. A day to which the earth, long subject to vanity, is 
represented as looking forward in hope : the adoption — to wit, 
the redemption of the body : when she herself, long groaning 
under the imposed transgressions of man, restless under the 
burden of sin, shall be regenerated, — come out of her pollu- 
tion and put on the vernal beauty of her youth, and rejoice 
with God's rejoicing children. A day when despised, op- 
pressed virtue is to appear in her own lovely garments, and 
rejoice evermore. A day when Christ, who has redeemed the 
body as well as the soul — which, in our pains, and corruption, 
and death, we cannot well understand — is to exhibit his work- 
manship to an assembled universe. "It is sown in dishonor, 
it is raised in glory : it is sown in weakness, it is raised in 
power : It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual 
body." No longer weak, hungering, pained, the organ of sin; 
but transformed into an auxiliary of the soul in all the high 
business of glorifying God, — every faculty and every sense an 
engine for executing the will of God, and gathering in new 
sources of happiness ! This is the redemption of the body. 

Although the children of God, we must go down to the 
dust — we must moulder back to earth. But we shall hear the 



16 MEMORIAL SEJRMON. 

resurrection trump, and shall come forth, our very dust made 
radiant by the breath of our Saviour, having the Divine Son- 
ship written on its every particle, as well as on the redeemed 
spirit. 

And as we move forward to the grave to deposit all that 
remains of him, so much beloved and honored, God bids us 
rejoice as well as weep, remembering that the very dust 
redeemed by Christ is the object of his most tender and 
watchful care, till he shall bid it rise, and array it in garments 
of heavenly beauty like unto his own glorious body. 

Our honored father, Mr. Benjamin S. Walcott, was born in 
Cumberland, R. I., in the year 1785. He died at the age of 
seventy-six. He commenced the business of manufacturing 
cotton, in this State, at the Oneida Factory, in the year 1809, 
at which time the manufacturing interests of this country were 
in their infancy ; and the energy and ability which were requi- 
site to conduct successfully an experiment of the kind (for 
such it really was) the deceased was found to possess in an 
eminent degree. Associated with him, at that early day, as 
an assistant, was Deacon Wood, who is still with us. Mr. 
Walcott became connected in business relations with Mr. Ben- 
jamin Marshall, of Troy (deceased something more than three 



BENJAMIN 3. WALCOTT. 17 

years since), in the erection of manufacturing establishments in 
these villages, and, from that period till a few years since, he 
continued his active and responsible duties as its head and 
representative. 

In summing up the history of that great and good man, 
David, we have this very significant expression. "After he 
had served his own generation, by the will of God, he fell on 
sleep, and was laid unto his fathers." He served his genera- 
tion ! And he did not confer benefits involuntarily in the 
pursuit of his own selfish schemes ; " he served it" What a 
striking difference we find in the characters of men ! How few 
look to the general consequences of their actions ! " They toil 
on through life only for their own selfish purposes, caring 
little for the effect of their labors on the general current of 
human affairs." Selfishness often, not too often, perhaps, de- 
feats itself; it clips its own wings and falls to the ground. 
Our departed friend took a broad survey of human life. Gen- 
erations to come were ever before the eye of his mind, and 
time was but a stepping-stone to the vast future which is 
revealed to us in the Gospel. 

His early education was in New England, where he was 
reared under the teachings of an evangelical faith, and in the 
strictest rules of morality ; and these sterling principles of jus- 



18 MEMORIAL SERMON. 

tice, truth, and integrity never forsook him. He never gave 
way to those youthful vices which blind the intellect, and 
benumb the conscience, and weaken our physical power. He 
never labored under the unavailing regret of having wasted 
in indolence, and folly, and dissipation, his earlier years. His 
friends never were anxious and greatly perplexed as to the 
path of life he would pursue. He was manly, ingenuous, and 
upright, from the beginning. He scorned all double-dealing, 
looked with deep indignation on every fraud — on all that crafty 
duplicity which so often takes shelter under legal sanctions. 
He had weighed well the divine principle : He that is unjust 
in the least is unjust also in much. He knew that a little 
speck of villainy, like the minute decay in an apple, would 
soon vitiate the whole character ; and do we not all learn 
more and more to prize an honest man above all price ? 

These principles, of course, soon inspired with confidence 
all persons with whom he transacted business, and all in his 
employ believed, not only that he would do justly, but also 
that they would be remembered kindly in the day of adver- 
sity ; and when the dark days of life came they found in him 
a friend indeed. He ever freely encouraged those who were 
honestly endeavoring to rise ; and many are the individuals, 
in ^different parts of our land, who in early life came under 



BENJAMIN S. WALCOTT. 19 

his influence, that have arisen to position and wealth, who 
have thanked him most cordially for his friendly counsels, 
and affirmed that they owed all their success to his fostering 
care. And to-day, though dead, he is speaking in the lives 
and examples of hundreds and thousands of true men and 
true women. 

lie set his face, from the first, unwaveringly against every 
degrading habit. All Sabbath desecration he discountenanced. 
This sacred day ever found him punctually in the house of 
God. He knew that no community could truly prosper with- 
out a proper regard to God's ordinances. He rightly appre- 
ciated the value of this day on the cleanliness, the manners, 
and morals, and religion of every people. All games of chance 
he ignored, knowing the fearful consequences that come out 
of the smallest beginnings of evil. All profanity he sternly 
rebuked — a sin most gratuitous and heaven-daring. He earl y 
embraced the true principles of the temperance reform, and 
from its inception to his death was he its unfaltering friend ; 
and this village stands forth as a beautiful illustration of 
what might be done if men of influence would lay aside the 
cup, and throw in their hearts, to roll forward this heaven- 
born reformation. 

Mr. Walcott has made his mark. No one, I am sure, 



20 MEMORIAL SERMON. 

will deny, who knows this place and its forming influences, 
that lie is its father. He originated that system of things 
under which these villages have grown up from nothing to 
their present beauty, and usefulness, and prosperity. His hand 
drew the plan and laid the foundation stones, — his was the 
moulding, guiding mind; the churches, the schools, the libra- 
ries, the peace, the purity, the integrity, the temperance, the 
industry, the regularity — all, in fine, which make these manu- 
factories compare so favorably with others — are due mainly 
to that truthful example, and those worthy principles, which 
were ever the ornament of his character. 

I have spoken of his practice and his principles. He had 
lived a life of the strictest morality till about the age of forty, 
when he discovered that, like Paul, he was going about to 
establish his own righteousness, and had not submitted him- 
self to the righteousness of God. God, in the greatness of 
his mercy, met him by his Spirit. He was slain by the law. 
He discovered that he was a sinner; he prayed, he begged, 
he agonized for pardon. All night, as many of you have 
heard from his own lips, he lay upon the floor and cried for 
forgiveness. The rags of his own righteousness, he plainly 
saw, could not cover him. In this dark valley of conviction, 
where he had struggled for weeks, God said to his troubled 



BENJAMIN S. WALCOTT. 21 

spirit, Peace, be still. He became a child of God — born not 
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God — and, from 
that time, God, his Saviour, life, death, time, and eternity, 
his relation to God, and his duties to his fellow-men, he has 
seen from a new stand-point. A divine life began, which, 
for thirty-six years, has borne precious, heavenly fruit. 

Mr. Walcott was constitutionally diffident. A man of 
few words, but these full of meaning ; his looks and words 
were unmistakable. He was never impulsive, always care- 
fully canvassing the subject under consideration ; and when 
his conclusions were formed he stood firm. He ever main- 
tained the bearing of an accomplished American gentleman ; 
never haughty, rude, or overbearing. His tastes refined, man- 
ners gentle, courteous, and winning. He adorned every social 
circle in which he moved, for he was a careful observer of 
the proprieties of intelligent, refined social life ; his words 
were fitly chosen, and fell in at the proper time and place. 
Politeness is defined by some one as benevolence in little 
things : no one ever more assiduously and kindly consulted 
the convenience and happiness of others. Although not fa- 
vored in early life with the advantages of a liberal education, 
he could appreciate the value and influence of educated minds, 
as his recent munificent donation to one of our best colleges 



22 MEMORIAL SERMON. 

will abundantly testify. Other schools of learning shared in 
his charity. He lived not unto himself; he not only gave 
freely into the great channels of public benevolence, but, as 
long as his hands could move, or his feet walk, he went about 
to cheer every neighbor he could reach with little kindnesses. 
His aim was to pour as many rills of happiness as possible 
through a suffering world. The poor widow and the fatherless 
have lost a friend. How many will rise up and call him 
blessed ! Verily, it is far better to have our names written on 
the grateful hearts of the poor than on the tablets of fame ! 
What a precious legacy has he left to his children, and to us 
all, in his example of manly Christian beneficence ! How much 
the Church of Christ needs such lights to lead her on to the 
fullness of God's love ! That voice, though he sleeps in death, 
will long be heard in these streets ; that revered and loved 
form, that peaceful, benevolent countenance, that patient look, 
will not soon be forgotten. We unitedly lift our hands to-day 
and cry, My father ! my father ! 

We have in the deceased a striking example of the power 
of unconscious influence. His acts spoke. Being converted late 
in life, and in the full tide of business, this fact, connected with 
a very retiring disposition, prevented that readiness in social 
prayer and exhortation which would have been more developed 



BENJAMIN S. WALCOTT. 23 

if, like Timothy, the dew of his youth had been given to God. 
But had his conversion been early, he would have been known 
more in deed than in word. By a constant Christian walk, 
by frequent acts of Gospel charity, by ever adhering to the 
right and true, he has far outdone in Christian influence the 
many who have talked much and done little. Very far was he 
removed from the narrow spirit of the sectarian ; his mind was 
eminently catholic ; he loved and could appreciate goodness 
out of the bounds of his own sect. He loved his own Church, 
but his acts of benevolence overflowed all denominational lines. 

He was eminently successful in business, possessing talents 
equaled by few ; but he escaped, by his uniform liberality, 
that contracting, covetous spirit, which increasing prosperity so 
often engenders. He gave from principle, and giving became 
with him an ennobling habit. He realized, as much as any 
man I ever knew, the luxury of doing good. I never saw the 
first man who accused him of loving money. When losses 
came, he met them with a calm, Christian temper, knowing 
that his true riches were all untouched. 

He was a true patriot as well as philanthropist. He loved 
his country, and in his extreme weakness he kept himself in- 
formed as to all her trials, and dangers, and sufferings. He 
wept over her, he prayed for her, and gave his thousands to 



24 MEMORIAL SERMON. 

preserve her Constitution, her liberty, her life; and while the 
waves of holy indignation would surge over his troubled spirit 
against the vile traitors who are stabbing at her very vitals, 
he lifted his heart to God in prayer for our deluded enemies, 
saying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they 
do." 

His example as a citizen, a man, a Christian, is worthy of 
all imitation; and with delight will his friends hold in remem- 
brance his private domestic character. In the tender, endear- 
ing relations of husband and father, he was most exemplary. 
That circle, so long animated by his presence and cheered by 
his smiles, is now desolate. He sleeps in death. 

"Asleep in Jesus, blessed sleep, 
From which none ever wake to weep ; 
A calm and undisturbed repose, 
Unbroken by the last of foes." 

He stood forth a bright example of Christian patience; 
even under the severest pains he never murmured, but ever 
greeted his friends with a refreshing smile. Months before he 
left us, his outer man felt the touch of death. His limbs failed 
to do their appropriate work; his arms hung palsied by his 
side ; he was almost as helpless as an infant. It was a sore 



BENJAMIN S. WAT, C0TT. 25 

trial to him, who had always been helping others, to be so 
dependent. But he was submissive ; and, while the outer man 
decayed, the inner man received new touches of polish and 
beauty, under the chisel of the Divine Artist. Few disciples 
have had such opportunities of seeing the lessons of Jesus em- 
bodied in life, as we who have stood by his bedside. He has 
taught us how to suffer as well as to do the will of God. 

After retiring from active business, which carried him on 
to almost seventy, he was permitted, with his wife, in com- 
pany with Prof. Upham, of Bowdoin College, and Dr. J. P. 
Thompson, of New York, to visit foreign lands. The manners, 
customs, and institutions which he witnessed seemed to im- 
press him with all the zest of such scenes upon youth and 
early manhood. He gathered precious food for reflection 
through all his remaining days, and his memory, to the very 
last, held with increasing delight these varied objects of inte- 
rest. His feet had stood where Christ stood. He had seen 
Jerusalem. He had crossed the Kedron, and visited sad Geth- 
semane, and gathered mementoes from the sacred garden. He 
had traveled up the Mount of Olives, in the very path, no 
doubt, traveled by our Saviour. He had stood on the ground 
of ascension. He had opened the Gospels and read the blessed 
truths just where they fell from the Saviour's lips, and the 



26 MEMORIAL SERMON. 

lessons of Christ came home with a double power to his heart. 
He remarked to me, a little time before his death, that he 
wished every candidate for the ministry, before he entered 
the pulpit, might visit the Holy Land. But I refer you to 
his own words, uttered to more than a thousand persons who 
went forth from this village to greet him and welcome him 
home : " The cities and countries in which our Saviour so- 
journed during his abode on the earth, have been among our 
prolonged travels. Our feet have trod upon the beautiful 
Mount of Olives, at the foot of which stands the garden of 
Gethsemane, where we gathered flowers and looked upon the 
ancient olive trees, said to be the silent witnesses of our 
Saviour's passion. Within and without the walls of Jerusa- 
lem have we many times wandered, and often have we as- 
cended and enjoyed sweet meditations on the beautiful Mount 
Zion. Mount Sinai has also been among the objects which 
we have looked upon and trod over with deep emotions of 
sacred interest, never, never to be forgotten." 

Mr. Walcott was elected one of the first elders in the 
Presbyterian Church in this place. His loss Ave, the members 
of the Session, and the whole Church, deeply feel. He was a 
corner-stone ; but we thank God he was so long spared to as- 
sist us by his prayers and guide us by his wisdom, May his 



BENJAMIN S. WALCOTT. 27 

mantle fall upon us ! Our beloved father, whose remains we 
this day deposit in the tomb, firmly believed the great truths 
which Paul lived and preached. In conversation with him 
during his sickness in regard to his future prospects, I asked 
him if he had no fear of death. He looked at me a moment, 
while a heavenly smile irradiated every feature, with a soul 
full of sublime faith, he said slowly and firmly, " He that 
liveth and believeth in me shall never die." His faith reduced 
Jordan to a very narrow crossing. Has not Christ abolished 
death ? Is not death the passage into life ? Is not death the 
birth of a true, unclouded manhood \ Are not we the dead ? 
The living are beyond the tomb. 

Mr. Walcott said to me in his last hours, in his extreme 
weakness, when his voice had failed and he was capable of 
only a low, faint whisper, as he called his beloved wife and 
children and friends to his side to give them his parting words 
of love and consolation : " I hope for grace, that I may have 
patience to wait ; I can cast my burden on the Lord ; I can 
trust in him ; I have no fear of death." 

The Revelator has said : " Blessed are the dead who die 
in the Lord from henceforth ; yea, saith the Spirit, that they 
may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them." 
Blessed man ! he has visited the earthly Jerusalem, and has 



28 MEMORIAL SERMON. 

now gone up to the heavenly, whose pavements are gold, 
whose gates are pearl, whose sentinels are angels, where death 
never enters, "where they need no light of the sun, or moon, 
or stars, for the Lord God and the Lamb are the light of it." 



TRIBUTES OF RESBECT. 



TRIBUTES OF RESPECT. 



From the Utica Daily Herald, Jan. 13, 1862. 

DEATH OF BENJAMIN S. WALCOTT, ESQ. 

A gentleman, to whom, perhaps, more than any other is due the prominence 
of Oneida County in manufactures, has passed away. Benjamin S. Walcott, 
Esq., of New York Mills, died on Sunday afternoon, at one o'clock, closing his 
eyes in death in the midst of a population every member of which revered him for 
the excellent qualities of his head and heart. 

For nearly half a century Mr. Walcott has been identified with New York 
Mills, which, by his labors, and those who, long associated with him, have carried 
out his spirit and policy, has become a model village, where skillful manufacture 
produces fabrics known over the world, and industry is adorned by the courtesy 
and the social habits which make life happy, and the higher interests of morality 
and religion are cultivated with more care than the material arts which are the 
wealth of the inhabitants. The deceased built the original mills at this place in 
1S25, as agent of Mr. Benjamin Marshall, of Troy, and in that capacity conducted 
them for over twenty-two years, with remarkable success. It Was about fourteen 
years ago that Mr. Walcott became main proprietor of the establishment, then 
extensive and thriving. 

Mr. Walcott was born in Cumberland, R. I., September 29, 1786. His 
father was a manufacturer, and he inherited the tact and skill which have crowned 



32 TRIBUTES OF RESPECT. 

his long life with such abundant success. The capacity and industry which built 
up so extensive a manufactory are to be commended ; but the qualities for which 
the deceased would prefer to be remembered are, the thorough conscientiousness 
which pervaded all his business relations, and led him to care like a father for the 
operatives who gathered about him ; the deep moral sentiments which gave tone 
to his w r hole life, and made him active in religious enterprises, and the judicious 
and liberal patron of education. If a heathen poet, pointing to his verses, could 
boast, u I have reared a monument more perennial than brass," how much more 
could the deceased point to this thriving manufacturing town, bearing an industrial 
and moral character not surpassed, and deem it the monument which shall carry 
down his excellencies to the regard of future generations ; for New York Mills is 
his work — in its neat and well-arranged factories, in its thrifty habits, and its 
attention to all movements which can elevate humanity, and in the moral worth 
which his example and teachings developed and have perpetuated. 

Mr. Walcott has been a laborious man, but his intelligence was broad and his 
intellectual and literary tastes high. These led him, a little more than ten years 
ago, to seek to restore his impaired health by a visit to Egypt and the Holy Land. 
Among his traveling companions were Rev. Dr. J. P. Thompson and Professor 
Upham. His tour furnished him with many pleasant experiences, some of which 
were recorded in his private letters, published in these columns, and others may 
be gathered from Dr. Thompson's volume, which is dedicated to the deceased ; his 
return was the occasion of a reception, by the operatives and villagers at his home, 
which proved at once how he was beloved, and how well his example and habits 
of kindness and courtesy had been learned by those who had lived within the 
sphere of his influence. 

Mr. Walcott made a practice of unostentatious liberality, the record of which 
will never find its way into types. His munificent donation to Hamilton College, 
to found a Walcott Professorship of the Evidences of Christianity, shows at once 
his generosity and his religious sentiment. 

The venerable man died easily, after long and painful sufferings. A couple of 



TRIBUTES OF RESPECT. 33 

years since, his right hand and arm became paralytic, and last June his left hand 

became similarly affected. He had used up his fine physical powers in persistent 
and prolonged labors. lie endured his pains with remarkable patience, but has 
long been looking for that triumph of the Christian which is "far better." 
The funeral will take place on Wednesday or Thursday. 



Prom the Utica Daily Herald, Jan. 1G, 1862. 

FUNERAL OF B. S. WALCOTT, ESQ. 

The attendance at Mr. Walcott's funeral yesterday was very large, including 
not only the residents of New York Mills, but also many from Utica and neigh- 
boring towns. 

The funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Mr. Fitch, and Rev. Drs. Fisher, 
Fowler and Goertner took part in the exercises. 



A meeting of the employees of the New York Mills Company, and citizens 
residing in the three villages, was held in the M. E. Church, immediately after the 
interment of the late B. S. Walcott, Esq., to give expression to their respect for 
his memory. 

The meeting was called to order, when George St. George, Esq., was ap- 
pointed Chairman, and Geo. A. Hamilton chosen Secretary. 

A Committee on Resolutions was then appointed, viz. : — 'Messrs. Calder, Man- 
well, and Smith, New York Mills ; St. George, Shaw, and Bayne, Upper Mills ; 
Beveridge, Mackte, and Jamiesox, Oneida Mill, who reported through their Chair- 
man, J. Calder, Esq., the following preamble and resolutions : 



3 ± TRIBUTES OF RESPECT. 

" Whereas, it has pleased the Great Disposer of all events to remove from our midst the 
late Benjamin S. Walcott — a gentleman widely known and respected, and especially endeared to 
ns by his many private virtues ; whose charities were manifold, unostentatious and wide-spread ; 
who ever had at heart the best interests of those whom he employed ; and who, as a gentleman 
adorning life in every sphere in which he moved, had few equals and no superiors ; 

" Resolved, That, in the death of Mr. "Walcott, we lose a pattern of an honorable, noble-minded, 
energetic business man — one who held justice, honesty, integrity, and morality, to be of more 
consequence than the mere accumulation of property, and whose governing principle has ever 
been to pursue a liberal, upright course in all his dealings with his fellow-men. 

"Resolved, That in the character of the deceased were combined in an eminent degree the 
qualities of the true Christian and practical philanthropist. 

" Resolved, That the prosperous villages of which he may be pronounced the parent, will 
remain enduring monuments of his worth, and his life and example will ever be remembered and 
cherished by us, 

" Resolved, That we condole with the family and near relatives of the deceased in their be- 
reavement, and wish them to know that our friendly feelings and sympathies are with them on 
this trying occasion. 

" Resolved, That copies of the above preamble and resolutions be presented to the family of 
the deceased, and published in the Utica papers. 



GEORGE ST. GEORGE, Chairman. 



" Geo. A. Hamilton, Sec." 



TRIBUTES OF RESPECT. 35 



From the New-York Evangelist, Jan. 28, 1S62. 

fmmUtou College, 

Clixton, Oneida Co., N. Y., January 16, 1862. 
Messrs. Editors : 

The funeral solemnities of one of our best and noblest citizens called me to-day 
to New York Mills. This nourishing manufacturing town stretches along the 
Sauquoit, for a mile or more, to a point about half a mile from its confluence with 
the Mohawk. The town itself is worth a visit. Three groups of factories, situated 
respectively in the southern, central, and northern sections of the town, give em- 
ployment and maintenance to the entire population. The neat cottages, inter- 
spersed with now and then a stately mansion ; the mingled air of quiet and enter- 
prise ; the admirably arranged school-houses and commodious churches ; the 
absence of all signs of immorality and decay ; the shade-trees and shrubbery along 
the main street and around the dwellings of many of the inhabitants, — all betoken 
the influence of religion, enterprise, and culture. These factories combine the per- 
fection of machinery with consummate skill and honesty in their management. 
Their products are known all over the Union ; and the imprint of " New York 
Mills " is a guarantee of unrivaled excellence, which your female readers will at 
once recognize, although they know not the place on the map where they were 
manufactured. 

I have been thus particular in describing this town because it is intimately 
associated with the life of a good man, of whom the readers of The Evangelist 
ought not to be ignorant. The originator and builder of these factories — the man 
by whose talent and industry they were for many years managed — the father of this 
whole society— we have this afternoon laid, as to his mortal part, in the grave. An 
immense concourse of people from this town, with many from the neighboring 
borough of Whitestown and the city of Utica, honored the burial of Benjamin S. 



3G TRIBUTES OF RESPECT. 

Walcott. From the admirable sermon preached on this occasion by his pastor, 
Rev. Chester Fitch, I wish to condense a few of the most interesting facts illus- 
trative of his life. Born in Cumberland, R. I., Sept. 29th, 1786, he received from 
his parents a fair common-school education, industrious habits, and a thorough 
training in the doctrines and precepts of evangelical religion. These, combined 
with a naturally vigorous intellect, laid the foundation of his future success. He 
commenced the business of manufacturing, in this State, in 1809. At that time it 
was very problematical whether it was possible for this country to compete suc- 
cessfully with Great Britain in this department. Many who embarked in it utterly 
failed. But Mr. Walcott, with singular foresight, anticipated the progress of the 
nation in this direction, and set himself, with rare sagacity and practical judgment, 
to assist in producing it. He not only imported the latest improvements in ma- 
chinery from Great Britain, but improved upon those improvements. In connec- 
tion with Mr. Benjamin Marshall, of Troy, he commenced the erection of the 
New York Mills, in 1825. From that time his progress was steady ; factory was 
added to factory, house after house was erected, until the village assumed its pres- 
ent proportions. His goods were everywhere sought after, because they were the 
best of their kind. One of the secrets of this success consisted in the fact that he 
never would employ an immoral person to do his work. Adhering rigidly to this 
rule, with honest workmen he was sure of an honest product. He declared that 
in his life he had fully tested the soundness of the maxim, " Honesty is always the 
best policy." Not only was his name the synonym of honesty, but his work 
always illustrated it. He early entered into the spirit of the Temperance reform, 
and the entire society of the town he built up attests the extent of his influence in 
this direction. No drunkard is ever seen reeling through its streets; this curse is 
unknown there. Another principle on which he acted was the recognition of the 
claims of those he employed to be considered and treated as something more in 
their relations to him than merely operatives, doing so much work, receiving so 
much pay. He treated them as friends; the younger, especially, as his children, 
lie encouraged merit wherever he saw it; and hundreds of young men attribute 



TRIBUTES OF RESPECT. 37 

their success in life to his fatherly counsel and material aid. He was the first 
manufacturer in this country who reduced the working hours of the day from fifteen 
to twelve. lie was the first who introduced the custom of cash-payment, thus 
allowing- those he employed to purchase their supplies where they could do it 
cheapest and Lest. Jn these and other ways he consulted the Lest interests of 
those he had gathered around him, and won their sympathy. 

Up to the age of forty he was a strictly moral and honest man. Then there 
came a change ; he entered upon a new life. Through agonizing conviction of his 
utter sinfulness, he was brought at length into the light of a Christian hope. The 
Divine Spirit consecrated him to a new and higher work. From this period, for 
thirty-six years, his life has been that of the just, shining brighter until it passed 
into the perfect day. Now he prosecuted his work as a Christian, to whom talents, 
time, and wealth were but possessions entrusted to him for the good of others. 
Early elected an elder in the Presbyterian Church, he contributed largely to its 
real progress and prosperity. Although, from his natural diffidence and his con- 
version in middle life, he never attained facility in speaking or in public prayer, 
yet his warm sympathy with the pastor and members of the church, his prompt 
attendance upon religious exercises, his deep interest in the young, and his clear 
judgment, gave him great influence both as a member and office-bearer. No one 
was oftener called upon to act the part of a peace-maker, and his decision in any 
case was accepted as conclusive. Unostentatious in manners, and having a very 
low estimate of himself, he shunned praise as earnestly as most men seek for it. 
A man of few words, he formed his opinions and plans with great deliberation ; 
but, when once formed, he held them with great tenacity, and executed them with 
marked energy. In his intercourse with others he manifested that which consti- 
tutes the highest style of a truly Christian gentleman, a delicate attention to their 
wishes and feelings. In respect to property, he felt himself to be God's steward. 
His benefactions flowed in a steady stream, and embraced a wide circle of objects. 
With a spirit eminently catholic and unsectarian, he assisted, with a liberal hand, 
institutions and objects outside the pale of his own Church. He recognized the 



38 TRIBUTES OF RESPECT. 

spirit of Christ in all evangelical denominations, and many who did not worship 
with him, now rise up and call him blessed. He sought out the poor and the dis- 
tressed, and in a manner most congenial to their feelings relieved and comforted 
them. This was his habit even to the close of life. But in addition to these of the 
unknown deeds of daily beneficence, he contributed generously to public institu- 
tions. One of these donations especially demands a recognition here. Although 
not enjoying in early life the advantages of a liberal education, yet he appreciated 
highly these advantages, and desired, above all things, to see them consecrated by 
the spirit of Christianity. Prompted by these feelings, he founded the Professor- 
ship of the Evidences of Christianity in this institution — giving $15,000 of the 
$20,000 requisite for this purpose. Thus he has opened a fountain of healthy 
influence that will flow on, bearing his name down to future generations. While 
the walls of Hamilton College stand, and Christianity and learning shall there 
form the thinkers and the speakers who are to elevate and bless the world, so long 
will the name of Walcott be fragrant, and its influence full of life. Would that 
our rich men could realize in their own experience, as he did, the happiness of such 
a consecration of their wealth ! The Church of Christ sheds her benedictions upon 
such men, and time only augments their holy influence. 

Mr. Walcott, possessing this spirit, could not be anything less than a true 
patriot- — a noble citizen of our noble country. In this hour of her trial he gave 
his thousands to aid her in this great struggle with rebellion. He did it early, 
promptly, and without solicitation, counting property and life itself as nothing in 
comparison with the great interests at stake. 

He had for many years desired to visit the Holy Land, and some five years 
ago this desire was gratified. In company with Prof. Upham, of Bowdoin College, 
and Rev. Dr. J. P. Thompson, of your city, he visited Egypt and Palestine. The 
journey was one long scene of delight ; his letters home were full of the enthusiasm 
of a young traveler. Age had not disabled him from feeling the thrill of pleasure 
which the objects and scenes of that land are adapted to inspire. Before an audi- 
ence of more than a thousand persons, spontaneously gathered to welcome him 



TRIBUTES OF RESPECT. 39 

home after his distant journey, lie thus refers to the feelings those scenes awak- 
ened : " The cities and countries in which our Savior sojourned during his abode 
on earth, have been among our prolonged travels. Our feet have trod upon the 
beautiful Mount of Olives, at the foot of which stands the garden of Gethsemane, 
where we gathered flowers, and looked upon the ancient olive trees, said to be the 
silent witnesses of our Savior's passion. Within and without the walls of Jerusa- 
lem have we many times wandered, and oftentimes have we ascended and enjoyed 
sweet meditations on the beautiful Mount Zion. Mount Sinai has also been among 
the objects which we have looked upon and trod over with deep emotions of sacred 
interest, never, never to be forgotten." To his pastor, shortly before his death, he 
expressed the wish that every candidate for the ministry should visit those scenes 
before he began to preach the Gospel. 

About five years ago Mr. Walcott retired from active business, his son, William 
D. Walcott, and Samuel Campbell, Esq., who had for some years been associated 
with him, assuming the entire proprietorship of this immense establishment ; and 
it is but justice to add that these gentlemen, possessed of large views and admirable 
qualifications for their position, have carried it on in the same noble spirit of its 
founder. 

Since his retirement Mr. Walcott has enjoyed that repose which a long life of 
active usefulness so richly deserved. In the bosom of an affectionate family, 
revered and beloved by a wide circle of friends, he has gone down quietly to the 
grave. He had been called, at different periods of his life, to pass through the 
valley of affliction ; but his character had only grown brighter and more placid 
under the trial. Most of his eight children have settled in life. One son, his 
associate in business, died not long ago. In that circle his sweet, Christian spirit 
made him alike the joy and pride of children and grandchildren. During the last 
two years he was a great sufferer. Disease was gradually sapping that hale con- 
stitution, and slowly preparing him for the advent of death. But in the midst of 
suffering he was calm, patient, wholly resigned to the Father's will* Doubts of 
his acceptance would, at times, cloud the sky. He felt himself to be so sinful) his 



40 'TRIBUTES OF RESPECT. 

life to have been so unworthy, that he could find little evidence there on which to 
ground his hope. But these were transient seasons. As death drew near, all 
doubt vanished. Calling his beloved wife, children, and friends around his bed- 
side, he gave to his pastor, in a voice faint through extreme weakness, as his part- 
ing message of love and consolation, these words : u I -hope for grace that I may 
have 'patience to wait. I can cast my burden on the Lord ; I can trust in him; I 
have no fear of death.'''' And so the good man died ; like a shock of corn fully 
ripe, he is gathered into the heavenly garner. We laid his body away in those 
beautiful grounds which his taste had laid out and adorned as the xo/^tj^oj' — the 
sleeping-place of his people. There let his dust repose in hope, till the morn of 

the resurrection shall burst upon the world. 

S. W. F. 



. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



029 785 243 7 



























